P. v. Williams CA4/3
This case is uncomfortably reminiscent of one of the plot lines in To Kill a Mockingbird. If it were up to us, we might very well conclude that 60-plus year old arthritic third-striker William Blaine Williams poses no danger to public safety and thus could be successfully released from prison under the sentencing recall provisions of either Proposition 36 or Proposition 47. But as an appellate court we are bound by rules that govern our review of cases; one applicable here is that determinations of dangerousness under Propositions 36 and 47 are reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard, a standard that recognizes the inevitable superiority of the trial judge’s knowledge of the case and the parties. Applying that standard, we are required to affirm the trial court’s finding that Williams poses a danger to public safety based on a 2010 prison stabbing incident in which Williams allegedly stabbed another inmate. Even so, it’s a closer case than just that description might
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